Is there actually a lack of fundamental theory on deep learning?
There is a paper called Why does Deep Learning work so well?. 

"However, it is still not fully understood why deep learning works so well. In contrast to GOFAI (“good old-fashioned AI”) algorithms that are hand-crafted and fully understood analytically, many algorithms using artificial neural networks are understood only at a heuristic level, where we empirically know that certain training protocols employing large data sets will result in excellent performance. This is reminiscent of the situation with human brains: we know that if we train a child according to a certain curriculum, she will learn certain skills — but we lack a deep understanding of how her brain accomplishes this."